MEP visits to show support for Lib Dems

Liberal Democrats Daisy Benson and Sharon Bowles MEP at the Village Butcher at the Tilehurst Triangle

Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles came to Reading West to support candidate Daisy Benson.

The MEP visited Reading Buses to meet chief executive James Freeman and discuss what the company is doing to reduce carbon emissions following its recent problems with the cost of bio-ethanol fuel.

She then went to Tilehurst Triangle and called in at Village Butcher, the Wool Shop and the Link Community Cafe with Cllr Benson and Tilehurst councillor Peter Beard.

The MEP for the South East said: “I was delighted to visit Reading West where I am backing Daisy Benson to win. Her record – built up over four years – as one of the hardest-working local councillors in Reading speaks for itself.

“Local shopping areas like The Triangle in Tilehurst are the heart of our community. The services they provide are really important for community life and for the success of the local economy.

“It was great to meet some of the hard-working people in The Triangle who give their time to make it such an attractive place to shop for local people.”

Cllr Benson – who is the Lib Dem candidate for Reading West – said: “It was great to have Sharon’s support on the day the General Election was called – it gave our campaign a real boost.

“The people who work in the shops and businesses around Tilehurst are a real asset to our community.

“They need to be supported with less red tape and fairer taxes – something Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems are committed to delivering.

“The recession has made things difficult for many people locally. We need to do more at all levels of government to help people working in small businesses thrive.”

Speaking on Monday after Labour published its manifesto, Cllr Benson said: “Labour has had 13 years in government to deliver a fairer Reading and they have failed. 6,000 people are currently waiting for social housing and the number of children in poverty has gone up to nearly a quarter of all children in our area thanks to the failure of Labour.”

Lib Dems have ‘best chance yet’

Reading East Lib Dem candidate Gareth Epps said the Lib Dems have the best chance yet against the “Labservatives”.

The General Election, he said, comes at a good time for the Liberal Democrats who are up four per cent in recent ICM polls.

He said: “Knocking on doors in recent days, I have found huge disillusionment with both Conservative and Labour.

“After 65 years of failure, we are dubbing them the Labservatives – each as bad as the other.

“People want to see a stronger Lib Dem presence in Parliament.

“The days where Labour dominated politics in this area are now long gone, with them reduced to activity in a handful of wards in Reading East.

“Commentators and residents are acknowledging the Reading East election will be a fight between the Lib Dems and Conservatives.

“This is the best chance for 100 years for us to elect a Liberal Democrat in Reading East.

“We start fewer than 5,000 votes away. We go into this election with very great confidence.”

Daisy Benson’s Twitter use praised

The Liberal Democrat hopeful for Reading West is all of a Twitter having been declared one of the nation’s top political tweeters.

Daisy Benson has been rated the “most influential prospective political candidate” on Twitter by the new election tool called Political Tweet Level.

The tool ranks the top 150 political tweeters and although Councillor Benson does not make the top 10, her impact has still been felt.

The top 10 Tweeters include John Prescott, Sarah Brown, Alistair Campbell, Downing Street and the official Liberal Democrat and Tory pages.

But on the Election 2010 website, set up by Edelman – the international PR agency which has devised the political Twitter ranking – Cllr Benson gets a special mention.

Edelman say: “Perhaps unsurprisingly, candidates being younger and more attuned to Web 2.0 than their elected counterparts have greater influence on the social media forum with Lib Dem councillor and candidate Daisy Benson the most influential.”

Web 2.0 is interactive information sharing.

Cllr Benson said: “This was a bit unexpected but obviously I’m chuffed to get recognition for what I do.

“I’ve been on Twitter for a while now while some politicians are only just working it out what it is and how to use it.

“Twitter is just another way to talk to people as well as share thoughts and ideas. I use it alongside more traditional campaign techniques like knocking on doors as obviously not everyone is online.

“It’s more conversational and engaging than just sticking out press releases and leaflets and enables people to contact me with issues that matter to them.”